Saddam Hussein's body retrieved from Baghdad for burial

A delegation that included the governor of Salahuddin Province and the head of Saddam Hussein's clan has retrieved his body from Baghdad and taken it for burial near the executed dictator's hometown, Al-Arabiya satellite television reported Saturday night.

The broadcaster reported the burial would take place on Sunday.

The reported could not immediately be verified, the AP says.

Al-Arabiya said Salahuddin provincial governor Hamad Hamoud Shagtti and Sheik Ali al-Nidawi, leader Saddam's of the Albu-Nassir clan, had negotiated with U.S. and Iraqi officials to be able to bury the executed leader's body near where he was born, the village of Ouja which is near Tikrit, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad.

The report said the clan had gathered at the grand mosque in Ouja to await the return of Saddam's remains.

He was captured in an underground hide-out near the village on Dec. 13, 2003, eight months after he fled Baghdad ahead of advancing American troops.